1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a housing used for accommodating a member disposed at a vehicle exterior such as a door mirror provided at a vehicle exterior or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the performances of engines, tires and the like of vehicles have been improved, and improvements have also been made with respect to reduction of noise while the vehicle is traveling. However, as noise reduction has been improved, unpleasant noises which have not been heard before are heard in the vehicle interior. Therefore, there has been desired a reduction in such unpleasant noise or prevention of generation of unpleasant noise.
One kind of such unpleasant noises is a noise which relates to an air flowing on surfaces of respective parts of the vehicle or of parts mounted to the vehicle exterior while the vehicle is traveling. Examples of parts mounted to the vehicle exterior include a door mirror.
A door mirror which is provided at the side of a door of a vehicle to view, from the vehicle interior, the region substantially at the rear of the vehicle includes a visor which opens substantially toward the vehicle rearward side when mounted on the vehicle. A main body of the mirror is accommodated within the visor.
There are structures in which an annular visor rim, which corresponds to an open end shape of a visor cover, is mounted to the open end of the visor cover which opens substantially toward the vehicle rearward side when the visor cover is mounted on the vehicle. When the visor cover and the visor rim are joined, a matching surface at the visor cover side and a matching surface at the visor rim side face substantially along the vehicle longitudinal direction. Therefore, the gap formed between these matching surface opens in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the airflow advances. In this case, the flowing air may collide with the matching surface positioned at the downstream side in the direction in which the airflow advances. Or, the direction in which the airflow advances may be changed rapidly by the matching surfaces. As a result, the unpleasant noise known as cutting the wind is generated.
In particular, as the door mirror is mounted at the side of the door, which is relatively near a driver""s seat or a front passenger""s seat, the unpleasant noise can be easily heard by passengers. Accordingly, there has been desired a reduction in the unpleasant noise caused by air flowing on the surface of the visor of the door mirror, or prevention of generation thereof.
In view of the aforementioned facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a housing of parts of a device disposed at the vehicle exterior, such as a visor of a door mirror or the like, which can reduce or prevent the unpleasant noise caused by air flowing on the surface (the outer surface) of the housing.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a housing for a member disposed at a vehicle exterior which is formed by assembling a plurality of parts substantially in a vehicle longitudinal direction, the housing includes a matching portion which is exposed at an outer surface of the housing at a boundary of the plurality of parts when the plurality of parts are assembled together; and matching surfaces of the plurality of parts which oppose each other at the matching portion substantially in the vehicle longitudinal direction, wherein a housing outer side end portion of the matching surface positioned substantially at a vehicle frontward side is displaced further toward an outer side than a housing outer side end portion of the matching surface positioned substantially at a vehicle rearward side.
While the vehicle is traveling, air flows on the outer surface of the housing substantially from the vehicle frontward side to the vehicle rearward side. At this time, the airflow flows on the outer surface of the part positioned relatively at the upstream side in the direction in which the airflow advances, that is, on the outer surface of the part positioned substantially at the vehicle frontward side (which part is referred to as the xe2x80x9cfront partxe2x80x9d hereinafter). Then, the airflow flows on the outer surface of the part positioned at the downstream side in the direction in which the airflow advances, that is, on the outer surface of the part positioned substantially at the vehicle rearward side (which part is referred to as the xe2x80x9crear partxe2x80x9d hereinafter).
In the housing of the present invention, at the matching portion which is a boundary between the parts when the parts are assembled together and which is exposed at the outer surface of the housing, the housing outer side end portion of the matching surface of the front part is displaced further outward than the housing outer side end portion of the matching surface of the rear part.
The matching surface of the rear part substantially faces the vehicle frontward side which opposes the above-described airflow. When the housing of the present invention is seen substantially from the vehicle frontward side, the matching surface of the rear part is hidden by the front part and cannot be seen. Accordingly, when the aforementioned airflow passes on the matching portion, the airflow does not collide with the matching surface of the rear part and the direction thereof is not rapidly changed. As a result, the airflow smoothly flows on the outer surface of the housing. Thus, generation of an unpleasant noise such as a so-called xe2x80x9cnoise for cutting the windxe2x80x9d or the like due to the airflow passing on the outer surface of the housing can be reduced or prevented.
In accordance with the housing for a member disposed at a vehicle exterior relating to the present invention, among the matching surfaces opposing each other substantially along the vehicle longitudinal direction, an amount of displacement of a housing outer side end portion of the matching surface positioned substantially at the vehicle frontward side with respect to the housing outer side end portion of the matching surface positioned substantially at the vehicle rearward side is 0.5 mm or less. Further, a distance between the matching surfaces opposing each other substantially in the vehicle longitudinal direction is 1.0 mm or less.
In accordance with the housing for a member disposed at the vehicle exterior having the above-described structure, the housing outer side end portion of the matching surface substantially at the vehicle frontward side (that is, the matching surface of the front part) is displaced further outward than the housing outer side end portion of the matching surface substantially at the vehicle rearward side (that is, the matching surface of the rear part). The amount of displacement thereof (the difference in levels or the dimensional difference therebetween) is 0.5 mm or less. The distance between the matching surface substantially at the vehicle frontward side and the matching surface substantially at the vehicle rearward side opposing each other is 1.0 mm or less. Thus when the airflow passes on the matching portion, the airflow does not collide with the matching surface of the rear part and the direction of the airflow is not changed rapidly. As a result, the airflow smoothly flows on the outer surface of the housing. An unpleasant noise such as the noise of cutting the wind or the like when the airflow passes on the outer surface of the housing can be effectively reduced or prevented.
The housing for a member disposed at a vehicle exterior according to the present invention is preferably formed of a synthetic resin material which becomes hard after hardening thereof. Further, one of the plurality of parts assembled together substantially in the vehicle longitudinal direction has a fitting portion having a substantially U-shaped connecting portion. Moreover, the plurality of parts, in an assembled together state, is mounted at a side of a door of a vehicle, and a mirror is accommodated within an assembly of the plurality of parts assembled together. A support, which supports the mirror such that the mirror can pivot about axes which are substantially along a vehicle vertical direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction, is accommodated within the assembly.
The housing of the present invention is applied to a housing of a device which is mounted at the side of a door at the vehicle exterior or on a body panel and in which, other than the reflecting device such as a mirror or the like, a lighting device such as a light bulb, an alarm device such as an alarm whistle, or the like may be accommodated. Thus, an unpleasant noise (for example, the noise of cutting the wind) can be reduced or prevented.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing for a member disposed at a vehicle exterior which is formed by assembling a plurality of parts together substantially in a vehicle longitudinal direction, the housing includes a matching portion which is exposed at an outer surface of the housing at a boundary between the plurality of parts when the plurality of parts are assembled together; and matching surfaces of the plurality of parts opposing each other at the matching portion substantially in the vehicle longitudinal direction, wherein a corner portion of the matching surface substantially at a vehicle rearward side and the part having the matching surface is formed as a curved surface or as a flat surface which is inclined toward an outer side of the housing with respect to a direction of the matching surface substantially at a vehicle frontward side.
In accordance with the housing for a member disposed at a vehicle exterior, the corner portion is formed at the outer side position of the matching surface substantially at a vehicle rearward side, whereby an airflow can be guided so as to slowly flow on an outer surface of the part having the corner portion.
In accordance with the housing for a member disposed at a vehicle exterior having the above-described structure, the airflow flowing on the outer surface of the part relatively positioned substantially at the vehicle frontward side when the vehicle is traveling (which part is referred to as the xe2x80x9cfront partxe2x80x9d hereinafter) passes on the matching portion and then flows on the outer surface of the part positioned substantially at the vehicle rearward side (which is referred to as the xe2x80x9crear partxe2x80x9d hereinafter).
The corner portion of the matching surface of the rear part and the outer surface of the rear part is formed as a curved surface or as a flat surface which is inclined toward the outer side of the housing with respect to the direction of the matching surface of the front part. Thus, the airflow passing on the matching portion is gradually guided toward the outer side of the housing by the above-described curved or flat surface, and then flows on the outer surface of the part positioned substantially at the vehicle rearward side.
Even if the outer surface of the rear part is positioned further toward the outer side of the housing part than the outer surface of the front part, the direction of the airflow flowing on the surface of the housing cannot be changed rapidly in a vicinity of the matching portion of the parts. As a result, the unpleasant noise (for example, the noise of cutting the wind) can be reduced or prevented.
The housing for a member disposed at a vehicle exterior is preferably formed of a synthetic resin material which becomes hard after hardening thereof. Further, the plurality of parts, in an assembled together state, is mounted at a side of a door of a vehicle, and a mirror is accommodated within an assembly of the plurality of parts assembled together. Moreover, a support, which supports the mirror such that the mirror can pivot about axes which are substantially along a vehicle vertical direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction, is accommodated within the assembly. At least one driving device for pivoting the mirror is accommodated within the assembly, and the housing further includes a lower wall.
Further, the housing of the present invention is applied to a housing of a device which is mounted at the side of the door at the vehicle exterior or on the body panel and in which, other than a reflecting device such as a mirror or the like, a lighting device such as a light bulb or the like, an alarm device such as an alarm whistle, or the like may be accommodated. Thus, the above-described unpleasant noise (for example, the noise of cutting the wind) can be reduced or prevented.